The Hitman Returns

Bret Hart Returning to the WWE
By: Eric Gargiulo/ CamelClutchBlog.com

The unthinkable has happened. Bret Hart has reportedly signed a short-term contract to return to the WWE. Reports indicate his contract begins on January 1 and runs through WrestleMania. There are even some reports that speculate Hart may actually wrestle one more match. Yes, hell has frozen over in pro wrestling!

This could turn out to be the biggest pro wrestling story of the year. This goes well beyond Hulk Hogan’s deal with TNA Wrestling and almost makes the deal futile. As big of a surprise as this is, it was just a few days ago on WWE RAW when Bret Hart’s name was brought up as a WWE Guest Host. The terms of the contract would indicate to me that Bret Hart will be guest hosting WWE RAW when WWE and TNA Wrestling go head-to-head on January 4. It was nice knowing you TNA!

I don’t know what is more surprising about this situation, the fact that a contract is involved or the fact that Bret Hart may actually wrestle again? Hart is 52-years old and hasn’t wrestled in almost a decade. Bret retired shortly after suffering a concussion against Bill Goldberg in 1999. The final death blow to Bret’s career came in 2002 when he suffered a stroke. Bret has made a miraculous recovery since suffering the stroke, yet has never talked about wrestling again. The only times a possible match comes up is when Bret has said that he would like to wrestle Kurt Angle. Other than that, nobody has ever expected Hart to wrestle again.

Hart hasn’t appeared in a WWE ring since the infamous night in Montreal at Survivor Series 97. Hart signed a 20-year contract with the WWE a year prior to the match. Vince McMahon informed Bret that he was releasing him from his deal at the time and Bret was free to go to WCW. Bret signed a WCW deal while holding the WWE belt. In a match with Shawn Michaels at Survivor Series, Vince McMahon, Michaels, and several others corroborated an effort to falsely lure Bret into doing a job for Michaels. Bret’s brother Owen died in a WWE ring a couple of years later in a tragic accident, which almost surely closed the door for any potential WWE return for Hart.

Wow! I know most of you don't like pro wrestling but as far as pro wrestling moves go this is like dropping the atomic bomb. Hulk Hogan has been building toward a major showdown between the upstart TNA and WWE. The Hulkster announced TNA would move to Mondays on Jan. 4 to0 go head to head with RAW and with reports that Ric Flair could join him, things weren't looking good for WWE.

So Vince played the ultimate trump card and brought in his fiercest detractor in Bret Hart. For those unfamiliar with Bret Hart's relationship with Vince the following video provides a little background behind their fallout. Not to mention faulty WWE equipment killed Bret's brother Owen a few years after.